ENNIS – Hector Arana Jr. knocked his dad, Hector Arana Sr., off of the No. 1 provisional qualifying position to grab the pole for Sunday’s race.

It was his second No. 1 of the season and ninth of his career after he posted an impressive 6.852-second, 195.34 mph in the last qualifying session. Arana Jr. will face Matt Guidera in the opening round on Sunday while his dad will meet Redell Harris.

“I honestly did not [expect to improve],” Arana Jr. said. “One of the guys was down there talking, and I said, ‘We’re not going to pick up. It’s too hot.’ Surprisingly we did, but if you look at my increments, everything finally came together.”

Arana Sr. was second on his Lucas Oil Buell with a 6.862 at 196.24. Series points leader Eddie Krawiec was third on his Screamin’ Eagle Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson after recording a 6.887 at 194.49. Andrew Hines, who won last weekend at Charlotte, was fourth on his Harley-Davidson with a 6.892 at 194.10.

“We’ve been very consistent on race day,” Arana Jr. said. “Both my father and I have been able to go rounds. I’ve had decent, consistent lights, in the .020s. We’ve been on the negative side a couple times, but you can’t be afraid of the Christmas Tree. It can be your friend, it can be your enemy. You can’t be nervous. You’ve got to do your thing and go for it.”

Michael Ray of New Braunfels, qualified eighth on the grid, will face Scotty Pollacheck in the opening round.

ENNIS, Texas — First-round pairings for Sunday’s eliminations at the 27th annual AAA Texas NHRA Fall Nationals at Texas Motorplex, the second of six playoff events in the NHRA Full Throttle Countdown to the Championship. Pairings based on results in qualifying, which ended Saturday. DNQs listed below pairings.